Letters to the editor

Republican troubles

I’m tired of the gridlock in Washington, D.C., and I lay the blame completely on House of Representatives. The Republican leaders in the House talk about all the legislation they have sent to the Senate, where bills go to die.

What they don’t tell the citizens is that almost all the bills have an attachment to defund the Affordable Care Act, which isn’t going to happen. I have a question for my friends in the Republican Party.

What is your plan for health care in America? What is your plan to protect womens’ rights in America? What is your plan for solving the immigration problems in America?

What is your plan to guarantee all citizens have the right to vote? What is your plan to improve workers’ rights and pay?

Don’t think too hard, my Republican friends, on those questions because you don’t see any of those as issues that can’t be handled by just letting capitalism do its thing. It sure worked well for the slaves in our country’s history, didn’t it?

If I were a betting man, I’d say you’ll go to your old standby, burying your heads in the sand and just refusing to compromise with President Barack Obama.

John Koehler

Raytown

Health care woes

I am having questions with another government-run health care system, Medicare. I have a Medicare supplement/advantage plan, and it was obtained through AARP/United Health Care. Per AARP ads that I see on TV, if a doctor accepts Medicare then he will accept the Medicare supplement/advantage plan.

I have found this to be the case, but now Medicare supplement/advantage is telling me that I can no longer see one of my doctors because that physician has been removed from my plan. My doctor still accepts Medicare.

I have talked to both of my U.S. senators and my U.S. representative. They say they have nothing to do with the Medicare supplement/advantage plans as they are private plans using a government plan (Medicare).

The Missouri insurance office for consumers says the same. I guess this is just another plan that the government doesn’t know how to operate.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is the one that makes the headlines.

Allen Broadbent

Independence

Excessive giveaways

President Barack Obama gives millions of dollars to countries that do not like the United States. Millions of dollars go to some leaders who pocket the money.

Now we are spending millions of dollars to take care of illegal immigrants crossing our borders because Obama will not stop them. Now we will give millions to those countries to take their people back.

It’s the perfect scam. We need to secure our borders and protect America.

Ron Erickson

Independence

Seeking good teachers

American voters have gotten their priorities wrong. We pay our public school teachers around $45,000 and give them little cash incentive for superior performance. That’s about 16 percent of what we pay our doctors and 40 percent of what our lawyers make.

Our children are our envoys to the future. We should put a higher priority on preparing them for it.

A schoolhouse full of great teachers can do more good for us and our country in nine months, than a tavern full of lawyers or a golf course full of bankers, doctors and corporate executives can do in a year. Great teachers can make children more than we ever imagined they could be.

With them, the classroom can be an exciting place, where kids want to be. I have known some of them. I remember three from high school, 70 years back. They have remained with me while so much else has faded.

These great ones are coming out of the universities now. We need them in our schools, but other employers are out there, competing for them.

If we insist on the best, we must be willing to pay market wages.

Ben Vineyard

St. Joseph

Submitting letters

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